During an ice hockey game with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in St Petersburg yesterday, Vladimir Putin put up a strong performance, scoring seven goals in an 18-7 thrashing.

The two presidents, who had already stated that they will hold joint war games next year, put on a show of friendliness by teaming up as teammates alongside past hockey players for the match.

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The Russian president scored the first goal, then Lukashenko added two more, despite their opponents’ lack of opposition, maybe due to fear of retaliation.

The hockey footage shows their opponents backing off as Putin skated gingerly towards the goal.

Putin wore his favourite number 11 jersey for the white squad, while Lukashenko was awarded the coveted number one jersey.

During the competition at the Manezh children’s and young sports school in Strelna, they were also joined by the Belarusian’s son Nikolai.

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The match took place after the two met to discuss a fresh round of cooperative military training scheduled for February or March.

Putin said military officials will coordinate specifics during a conference in St. Petersburg.

Putin’s declaration comes in the midst of a Russian force buildup near Ukraine, which has sparked fears of an invasion from the West.

Some Ukrainian officials have expressed concern that Russia could strike the country from Belarusian soil.

Russia has denied any preparations to attack its neighbour, but has requested the United States and its partners to provide guarantees that NATO will not expand or deploy its armaments in Ukraine, demands that the West has rejected.

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Russia and Belarus have a union agreement that envisions strong political, economic, and military relations, and Moscow has been a firm supporter of Lukashenko in the face of Western criticism.

After a severe crackdown on domestic protests sparked by Lukashenko’s reelection to a sixth term in an August 2020 election that the opposition and the West claim was fraudulent, the pressure increased.

The arrival of thousands of migrants and refugees on Belarus’ border with EU member Poland has heightened tensions since the summer.

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Lukashenko has been accused by the EU of retaliating for EU sanctions by using needy asylum seekers as puppets and duping them into attempting to enter Poland.

In September, Russia conducted large war games with Belarus, including 200,000 troops, as a show of support for Lukashenko.

Moscow has sent its nuclear-capable aircraft on patrol over Belarus several times in recent weeks.

Russian and Belarusian fighter planes patrolled Belarus’ airspace together on Wednesday.

Lukashenko stated last month that Belarus would be willing to host Russian nuclear weapons.

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Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has not specified what types of Russian nuclear weapons Belarus would be willing to accept, but he has stated that the ex-Soviet country has meticulously kept the required military infrastructure dating back to the Soviet era.

Lukashenko’s offer has been termed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov as a “serious warning caused by reckless Western conduct.”